Preparation of bioactive chitosan-hydroxyapatite nanocomposites for bone repair through mechanochemical reaction

Natural bone is a kind of nanocomposites composed of orientated hydroxyapatite (HAp) along c-axis and fibrous collagen. Therefore. composites exhibiting composition and structure analogous to those of natural bone have been expected to be useful bone Substitute materials. Organic polymer-HAp composites have been attracted Much attention since they have interesting features such as bone-bonding ability, i.e. bioactivity and flexibility. In the present study, chitosan-HAp nanocomposites were prepared through mechanochemical reaction using conventional ball mill and Subsequent aging. The obtained composites contained carbonate-containing, HAp, and HAp nanocrystals in the composites aged at 25 C for 24 h showed a needle-like Structure. They can form bone-like HAp on their Surfaces after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF), indicating potential for bioactivity in living body. The prepared chitosan-HAp composites are expected to be one of the useful bone Substitute materials.